Top 10 Highlights From The 90th Academy Awards

After the La La Land/Moonlight mix-up, there was no way the 90th Academy Awards was ever going to be as shocking or buzz-worthy as last year’s ceremony. Even if there weren’t any mistakes, though, it was still a highly eventful night for Hollywood.

Here are 10 highlights from the 2018 Oscars:

10. Jimmy Kimmel’s Opening Monologue

Jimmy Kimmel returned to host this year and he touched upon everything one would expect: Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, the Me Too movement, the Time’s Up movement, the changing tides Hollywood, and of course the nominated films. Surprisingly, though, Kimmel pretty much gave Matt Damon the night off.

9. Mark Bridges Wins Jet Ski

Kimmel’s best bit of the night was promising to give the winner with the shortest speech a free jet ski, as well as a trip to Lake Havasu. The jet ski ultimately went to costume designer Mark Bridges, who also took home his second Oscar for Phantom Thread.

8. Crashing A Wrinkle in Time Screening

Giving Ellen DeGeneres’ record-breaking selfie a run for its money, Kimmel rounded up Gal Gadot, Mark Hamill, Guillermo del Toro, Ansel Elgort, Margot Robbie, Lupita Nyong’o, and Armie Hammer in the middle of the ceremony to crash a screening of A Wrinkle in Time at the TCL Chinese Theatre. We can only imagine how the unsuspecting audience felt as these A-listers passed out goodies.

P.S. Where can we buy a hot dog cannon?

7. Roger Deakins FINALLY Wins an Oscar

If there was one person who was overdue to finally win an Oscar this night, it would have to be cinematographer Roger Deakins. With The Shawshank Redemption, Skyfall, and numerous Coen brothers’ movies to his credit, Deankins has lost this award 13 times. He won at long last for his stunning work on Blade Runner 2049. On a side note, the Blade Runner sequel also won for Best Visual Effects.

6. A Great Night For Women

Kimmel wasn’t the only person who addressed sexual misconduct and the need for change in the entertainment industry. Weinstein accusers Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek, and Annabella Sciorra all appeared on-stage together to say some empowering words and present a forward-thinking video segment. Frances McDormand additionally stole the show when she asked all the female nominees to stand up during her acceptance speech. If only Lady Bird had taken home at least one award.

5. A Great Night For Diversity

Just a couple years after the Oscars So White campaign, we saw a lot of diverse artists get the recognition they deserve. Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro won Best Director for The Shape of Water and Jordan Peele became the first African American to win Best Original Screenplay for Get Out. Pixar’s Day of the Dead themed Coco also did quite well, winning Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (Remember Me).

4. Lots of Shout Outs to Black Panther

Speaking of diversity, Black Panther was mentioned several times throughout the ceremony. Could it have enough support to score a Best Picture nomination next year? Given the success of films like Get Out and Logan, it’s not out of the question. Of course it could also get snubbed across the board like Wonder Woman.

3. James Ivory Becomes the Oldest Oscar Winner Ever

This American filmmaker previously directed A Room with a View, Howards End, and The Remains of the Day. He took home his first Academy Award for Call Me by Your Name, making him the oldest Oscar-winner ever at age 89.

2. No Major Surprises in the Acting Categories

As expected, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri received two acting awards with Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell winning Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Meanwhile, Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for I, Tonya and Gary Oldman won Best Actor for Darkest Hour.

1. The Shape of Water Wins Best Picture

It was a close race, but The Shape of Water ultimately prevailed in the Best Picture category. The fantasy romance thus became the first film since Braveheart to win this award without having a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

A Few Other Observations

The Shape of Water won the most awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, and Best Original Score).

Dunkirk won the second most awards (Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing).

Why was the Austin Powers theme played when Viola Davis came on-stage?

Allison Janney: “I did it all myself.” – Funniest line of the night!

Kobe Bryant is officially an Oscar-winner for the Animated Short, Dear Basketball.

Can Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Haddish PLEASE host the Oscars next year?

Actor David Ogden Stiers, who passed away on March 3, 2018, was absent from the Oscars In Memoriam segment. May he rest in peace.

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